


Campfire Song

by SeraphicHorror



Category: Outer Wilds (Video Game)
Genre: Being surprisingly chill about the end of everything, End Game Spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 04:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20091205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeraphicHorror/pseuds/SeraphicHorror
Summary: Alone on the Quantum Moon for an eternity, or maybe a heartbeat, Solanum has a lot of questions with no answers. She also has a visitor.





	Campfire Song

“I’ve never met with one of your kind before. It’s an honor to speak with you! I particularly admire your four eyes. There are many questions I would ask, if I could comprehend your language. You have my gratitude for understanding mine.”

Communicating through the stones feels clunky and awkward to her, but through the tinted glass of the Traveller’s visor, she watches an odd expression cross their face. She hopes her words haven’t offended them, or that the message didn’t get lost in translation. They blink a couple of times, and turn to look at her, the corners of their mouth turned up around the edge. The gesture seems friendly, though she knows that making assumptions about unfamiliar species is unwise, especially on so little evidence. Even so, this Traveller hasn’t shown any signs of aggression or hostility towards her, only curiosity about the moon they both stood on, and the mystifying planet it sometimes orbited. 

She could relate to that feeling.

The conversation, one-sided as it was, moved on, the Traveller asking her questions as best they could with the stones. When the question turned to Solanum herself and her connection to the Quantum Moon, her answer was somewhat bittersweet, though she couldn’t say she had any regrets. “You may think I’m strange, but I have a hypothesis that I may not be entirely alive. Perhaps my journey has reached its end.”

The Traveller looked up at her, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing in what was, to most sentient species the Nomai had encountered over the years, an expression of displeasure. She sighed softly, suspecting this was confirmation that she was correct, something she had known, on a deep, gut level. Her certainty was unscientific in every way she could think of, but its truth had apparently remained for quite some time now. Time didn’t seem to pass much here, if at all, but her ship seemed to have begun to move the same way the Shrine did, something that could only happen if it had remained here for much longer than it felt like, and she had a feeling that getting back on it and trying to leave would yield rather unpleasant results. 

Even so, she was still there, in a place her people held so sacred, and talking to someone entirely new, from an entirely new species that as far as she could recall, none of her kind had ever encountered before. If this was how she spent her remaining time, she didn’t think it so bad.

The traveller removed the stone symbolizing the Quantum Moon somewhat somberly, and seemed to consider the other stones before replacing it with their own stone, and looking up at her with an emotion Solanum swore Nomai could recognize on anyone, no matter the species. The same curiosity that had brought her here, had brought her people to this system, and eventually brought this Traveller to her. Her eyes narrowed in pleasure at the question, and she didn’t hesitate to respond. 

“We do not have much connection, you and I. Still, this encounter feels special, I hope you won’t mind if I think of you as a friend.”

The Traveller’s expression evened out once more, before their mouth turned up at the corners again. Solanum took this reaction to confirm her earlier hypothesis that it was a positive expression, at least tentatively. 

As nice as it was to have some company, and apparently a new friend, their one-sided conversation eventually drew to a close. When there were no more questions for the Traveller to ask, no new ways to combine the stones, they lingered a bit, before taking the Eye of the Universe stone in their hand. After a couple of half-begun gestures with one appendage, they gestured to themself, and then the stone. Solanum’s eyes narrowed once again, her companion’s meaning clear, even if they were as frustrated by how rudimentary it was as she. She quickly wrote one more message to them, to bid them farewell. 

“I wish you luck in reaching the Eye, and hope you are successful where we have not been. When you reach it, spare a thought for me?” She asked. The Travelled replaced the stone, and then reached out slowly to her, and clasped her appendage not occupied with her staff in both of theirs, the touch gentle, but solid. He fingers tightened around theirs for a brief moment before she let go, and they went on their way. 

She was left to wonder about the effects her friend reaching The Eye might have on its moon, and herself. She supposed she would find out, though she hoped it would be possible for the Traveller to come meet her again. She wasn’t quite sure how long she had been on the Quantum Moon, but having some company again had been nice. 

\---

What felt like mere minutes later, but was almost certainly much longer, Solanum found herself somewhere new. Though she had visited the planet only once-- only briefly, it looked to be Timber Hearth, but she knew it wasn’t. In the unsettling, unscientific way she had found herself knowing quite a few things lately, she knew this was it. 

This was The Eye of the Universe. 

She wondered idly about the Eye’s appearance, and the presence of a campfire, of all things. It didn’t matter now, but curiosity was her nature, or she wouldn’t be here, and as she had told the Traveller on the Moon, she had so many questions. Answers may not come, not ever, but even the end of everything couldn’t stop her from asking, even if it was only to herself. 

“This song is new to me, but I am honored to be a part of it.” She had told them, when everyone was gathered, but she didn’t believe that to be quite correct. True enough that it was a song she’d never played before, never given conscious thought, but it was a song she’d known as long as she had been alive, a song she was sure every being in the Universe now coming to a close knew, a song even the atoms she was made of knew. 

She didn’t know how, exactly she knew the song, or how the Traveller could understand her without translation now, or how she could understand them in return, but she knew what needed done. It didn’t need all of those words, and she was sure the Traveller understood.

One at a time, and with no real rush-- they had all the time in the Universe-- the assembled group began to play, singing their Universe to sleep, and watched the new one take shape. As their own stars and planets burned out-- flames, to embers, to coals, to not even that anymore-- they watched as the new one took form from the smoke and ashes.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me how I fell down this rabbit hole, I don't know. I just know that Solanum is Babey and if the only way for there to be fic featuring her is to write it myself then so be it. This will most likely have some kind of sequel, but I make absolutely no promises.
> 
> Solanum's body language is roughly based on cats' body language, and the Protag's is more or less human. It didn't come into play here, but it feels worth mentioning. I threw around actually naming the Protag for a while and actually had something picked out for them, but in the end it didn't feel right. 
> 
> If anyone's curious my personal headcanon name for them is Breccia. A rock that can be formed by a meteorite impact, and is made of many different things fused into one seemed appropriate.


End file.
